User interchangeable ornamental portions of electronic devices

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus is disclosed for the customization of electronic equipment of which portable audio players, portable disc players, portable digital games and laptop computers are representative. The electronic equipment may be fitted with a substantially transparent faceplate that may cover removable inserts. These inserts may be customizable to provide unique decorative appearances to the electronic equipment upon which they may be fitted. Decorative designs may either be preprinted on the inserts or a user may produce a customized design.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/716,087, filed Mar. 9, 2007, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/044,613, filed Jan. 11, 2002, which issued asU.S. Pat. No. 7,206,618 on Apr. 17, 2007.

BACKGROUND

This invention relates to the field of portable electronic devices.

Today electronic devices are ubiquitous. Cell phones, portable discplayers and the like can be seen daily in most public places such as onthe beach and in shopping malls. Many families own multiple portabledevices and not infrequently have a number of the same make and modelunits. For example, the husband and wife may each have the same cellphone model. The children may each have similar looking portable discplayers.

In addition, many of the devices look similar even if they are fromdifferent manufactures. For example, many of the portable disc playersare manufactured from dark colored plastic and are generally squareshaped. Many portable phones have a similar shape. This similarity ofdevices can and often does lead to confusion. The husband will take thewrong phone or the children will argue over who owns a particular discplayer. There is therefore a need to be able to distinguish one devicefrom another similar device.

There is also a need to distinguish a particular portable device forpromotional or other purposes. For example, cellular service providersmay desire to put their logos on the phones they provide to customers. Amuseum may wish to uniquely identify the tape players they rent topatrons.

Therefore a need exists for a way to change the look of electronicequipment to aid in identifying a particular unit from other similarunits and to allow a user to give their unit a unique look.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a cell phone incorporating a replaceable insertand a substantially transparent faceplate in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an isometric view of a cell phone base with the faceplateremoved in one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is an isometric view of a replaceable insert having an ornamentaldesign in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is an isometric view of a substantially transparent faceplate inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is an isometric view of a digital audio player in accordance withone embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is an exploded view of the digital audio player illustrated inFIG. 1;

FIGS. 7-9 are plan views of a digital audio player having threedifferent ornamental designs printed on the replaceable insert in oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is an isometric view of a laptop computer incorporating areplaceable insert and a substantially transparent faceplate inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is an isometric view of a base section of the top lid of thelaptop computer in one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is an isometric view of a replaceable insert in accordance withone embodiment of the present invention having an ornamental designthereon;

FIG. 13 is an isometric view of a substantially transparent faceplatefor the laptop computer in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 14 is a plan view of a handheld digital game incorporating areplaceable faceplate and a substantially transparent faceplate inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 15 is a plan view of a base section of the handheld digital game inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 16 is a plan view of a replaceable insert in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention having an ornamental design thereon;and

FIG. 17 is a plan view of a substantially transparent faceplate for thehandheld digital game in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIG. 1, a portable cell phone 101 may display, in someembodiments, an ornamental design 103 that may be easily changed andcustomized by a user of the phone 101.

Referring to FIG. 2, a base section 201 of the cell phone 101 may, insome embodiments, include a plurality of operational controls of which203, 205 and 207 may be representative. The base section 201 may alsoinclude a display 209 that may display the phone number being called andother operational data.

Referring to FIG. 3, in some embodiments, an insert 301 may incorporatea plurality of apertures of which 303, 305, 307 and 309 arerepresentative. Apertures 303, 305 and 307 may be designed to allow theoperational controls 203, 205, and 207 to be accessed from the frontpanel of the cell phone 101. Aperture 309 may allow the replaceableinsert 301 to fit over the display 209 such that the display 209 isgenerally unobstructed.

Referring to FIG. 4, in some embodiments, a faceplate 401 maybe designedto be affixed to the base section 201. In one embodiment of the presentinvention, the faceplate 401 may be manufactured of a material that issubstantially transparent such as a clear plastic or other materials.

The cell phone 101 may be constructed such that the replaceable insert301 may be sandwiched between the base section 201 and the inside of thefaceplate 401. As the faceplate 401 is substantially transparent, anyornamental design on the replaceable insert 301 may be viewable throughthe faceplate 401. The replaceable insert 301 may be constructed of anymaterial that is advantageous for the printing technology used to printan ornamental design thereon.

For example, in some embodiments, a paper material may be used if anink-jet or photocopy process is utilized to print a design on the insert301. The paper may be fed into a printer or copier as a normal sheet ofpaper would. After the image has been transferred to the insert 301, theinsert 301 may be formed to the size required and placed between thefaceplate 401 and the base section 201. To assist in the printingprocess, the insert may be integrated into a full sheet of 8.5″ by 11″paper with punch out tabs to assist in separating the insert 301 fromthe remainder of the paper.

Many of the well known graphics programs which run on home or officecomputers may be used to design and print a desired image on the insert301. Alternatively, specialized programs may be designed and madeavailable to those wishing to make custom inserts. The printing may beconveniently performed by using a home or office printer that utilizesan ink-jet, laser or other technology.

For mass produced designs, in addition to paper based materials, Mylaror other materials may be utilized to fabricate the insert should aprinting technology such as silk screening or other large scale printingprocesses be utilized.

Another embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIG. 5. In FIG. 5,a digital audio player 501 includes a faceplate 503 and a base 505. Thefaceplate 503 may be manufactured such that a viewing section 507 of thefaceplate 503 is substantially transparent. A display 509 may be visiblethrough the faceplate 503 as is a top surface 511 located under thefaceplate 503. The faceplate 503 may cover substantially the entire topsurface 511 of the base 505.

A “digital audio player” as used herein is an electronic device in whichaudio is stored digitally in non-volatile memory and converted to ananalog signal for playback. Examples of non-volatile memory are solidstate memory or digital audio tape.

In one embodiment of the present invention illustrated in FIG. 6, aninsert 601 may fit between the top surface 511 and the underside of thefaceplate 503. Insert 601 may include a display aperture 603 that maypermit the display 509 to be viewed once the insert 601 is positioned onthe top surface 511. In one embodiment, the player 501 may beconstructed such that when the faceplate 503 is affixed to the base 505,the insert 601 may be visible through the viewing section 507.

The insert 601 may be manufactured of any convenient material but may beadvantageously manufactured of a material such as paper which may retainan image when printed on by an ink jet, laser or other printer, orcopied onto by a photocopier or other image transfer device. In thisway, an image on the insert 601 may be visible to a user through theviewing section 507.

In some embodiments, insert 601 may be provided by the manufacturer ofthe digital audio player 501 with an image already printed on it or theuser may be provided with blank inserts. The user may use a graphicssoftware program to create a fanciful design, which may then be printedor copied onto a blank insert. To replace the insert 601, the faceplate503 may be removed from the base 505 and a new insert substituted forthe old insert 601. The faceplate 503 may then be affixed again to thebase 505. In this manner a user may customize the appearance of thedigital audio player 501 and change that appearance at any time.

Referring to FIGS. 7, in some embodiments, the insert 601 may have apattern that may appear as rows of circles. In other embodiments theinsert 601 may have a pattern that may resemble a network ofinterconnected beams (FIG. 8) and in still other embodiments, the insert601 the image of a series of stars may be printed on the insert 601(FIG. 9).

Referring to FIG. 10, in some embodiments, a laptop computer 1001 mayinclude a display housing 1003 on top of which an ornamental design 1005may be visible.

FIGS. 11-13 illustrate an exploded view of the laptop computer of FIG.10. Referring to FIG. 11, a base section 1101 of the display housing1003 may incorporate an insert retention feature 1103 according to someembodiments.

A replaceable insert 1201 (FIG. 12) in accordance with one embodiment ofthe present invention may be constructed such that it fits within theinsert retention feature 1103 on the base section 1101. An ornamentaldesign 1203 may be printed on the replaceable insert 1201.

Referring to FIG. 13, a faceplate 1301, in one embodiment, may bedesigned to fit on top of the base section 1101 and be retained thereon.To permit viewing the replaceable insert 1201, the faceplate 1301 may beadvantageously constructed of a substantially transparent material insome embodiments.

As in the other embodiments, the replaceable insert 1201 may besandwiched between the base section 1101 and the inside of the faceplate1301. As the faceplate may be generally transparent, any ornamentaldesign such as 1203 on the replaceable insert 1201 may be visiblethrough the faceplate 1301. By changing the replaceable insert 1201 withanother insert having a different ornamental design, the appearance ofthe laptop computer 1001 may be customized.

Referring to FIG. 14, in accordance with another embodiment, a handhelddigital game 1401 may include a display 1403 and game controls of which1405 may be representative.

As best illustrated in FIGS. 15-17, the handheld digital game 1401 mayinclude a base section 1501 upon which the display 1403 and game control1405 are located in one embodiment. Additionally, in some embodiments, areplaceable insert 1601 may be provided that may have cutout areas 1603and 1605 designed to fit over the display 1403 and game control 1405respectively. The insert 1601 may also have an ornamental design 1607thereon.

Referring to FIG. 17 a faceplate 1701 for the digital game 1401 mayinclude an opening 1703 to allow access to the game control 1405 and maybe constructed of a substantially transparent material.

In some embodiments, the digital game 1401 may be designed such that thereplaceable insert 1601 may be sandwiched between the base section 1501and the inside of the faceplate 1701. The faceplate 1701 may be designedto be affixed to the base section 1501. In this manner, the ornamentaldesign 1601 on the replaceable insert 1601 may be visible through thefaceplate 1701. As with the prior described embodiments, by changing thereplaceable insert 1601, the appearance of the digital game 1401 may becustomized.

In all of the above described embodiments, the faceplate and ornamentalinsert combination cover a substantial portion of a surface of anelectronic device to provide the electronic device with a uniqueappearance that may be easily changed. By changing the ornamentalinsert, a large number of unique appearances may be achieved.

While the present invention has been described with respect to a limitednumber of embodiments, those skilled in the art will appreciate numerousmodifications and variations therefrom. It is intended that the appendedclaims cover all such modifications and variations as fall within thetrue spirit and scope of this present invention.

What is claimed is: 1-20. (canceled)
 21. An outer portion configured toremovably couple to an electronic device in a user interchangeablemanner, wherein an ornamental design is viewable through the outerportion.
 22. The outer portion of claim 21, wherein the electronicdevice is a cell phone.
 23. The outer portion of claim 21, wherein theouter portion is a transparent faceplate.
 24. The outer portion of claim21, wherein an ornamental insert covers a portion of a surface of theelectronic device.
 25. The outer portion of claim 21, wherein theornamental design is a design that provides a unique appearance of theelectronic device.
 26. The outer portion of claim 21, wherein theornamental design is a design that provides a unique appearance of theelectronic device that is easily changeable by a user.
 27. The outerportion of claim 21, wherein the ornamental design is a design thatprovides a unique appearance of the electronic device relative to anornamental design of a user interchangeable replacement outer portion.28. The outer portion of claim 21, wherein the outer portion provides aunique appearance of the electronic device.
 29. The outer portion ofclaim 21, wherein the outer portion provides a unique appearance of theelectronic device that is easily changeable by a user.
 30. The outerportion of claim 21, wherein the outer portion is easily changeable by auser.
 31. The outer portion of claim 21, wherein the outer portioncovers a substantial portion of a surface of the electronic device. 32.The outer portion of claim 21, wherein the outer portion is a front ofthe electronic device.
 33. The outer portion of claim 21, wherein anappearance of the electronic device is customizable by a user being ableto interchange the outer portion of the electronic device.
 34. The outerportion of claim 21, the electronic device including an insert retentionmechanism to which the outer portion is removably coupled.
 35. The outerportion of claim 21, wherein the ornamental design may be easily changedand customized by a user of the electronic device.
 36. The outer portionof claim 21, wherein the outer portion may be easily changed andcustomized by a user of the electronic device.